Drum



June 9, 1964 LANG ETAL 3,136,201

DRUM

Filed Oct. 17, 1962 1 nnununnnnuu I'd-In nununnnnnnm an I 4 IJ'JJJIJIJIn-I-Ia INVENTORS Morris Lang BY 5 ul Goodman 7 ATTORNEY United States Patent 6 Claims. (Cl. 84-411) This invention relates to drums and particularly to drums of a novel type in which the conventional drum shell is provided with window openings and serves as a support for a sound-producing and reflecting member to be disposed within the shell to serve as a sounding board, or as a means for modifying the usual sounds of a drum head in order to impart a modulation or variation to the basic drum heat sound.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a vibratable member appropriately disposed and supported within a drum shell to be responsive to the sound waves from a drum head on the shell. Such auxiliary soundresponsive member is supported'to be free to serve as a vibratable sound-reproducing member so that the sounds from the drum head may be amplified or modulated and varied by the characteristics of such auxiliary member.

Such sound-responsive and sound-reproducing member may be made of suitable metals, wood, plastics, or other suitably prepared materials or treated materials that will respond to the sound waves from the drum heads, and, in turn, will modify those sound waves in accordance with the characteristics of the auxiliary member. I

Thus, the sound waves as reproduced by a drum head may be varied simply in amplitude, or may be modulated and varied in amplitude or timbre, or both.

In the construction of the drum of this invention, the basic structure of the conventional drum head is utilized, including the cylindrical shell that serves to support one or two drum heads with suitable end rings for clamping the drum heads tightly to the shell with appropriate lugs and adjusting screws. ,In addition to such conventional basic elements, there is provided in accordance with the present invention the auxiliary sound producing element which is disposed within the shell and appropriately suspended or supported from the shell in such manner as to permit the auxiliary member to have and enjoy its full freedom of natural vibration between its points of support on the shell. The auxiliary member is therefore so mounted and disposed within the shell as to, be spaced from the shell throughout its body portion except for points of support at which the auxiliary member may be necessarily joined orin contact with the main shell which serves also as asupport for the auxiliary sound reproducing member.

Such auxiliary member may itself be a cylindrical shell,

preferably supported symmetrically within the main shell.

Such auxiliary sound reproducing member may be of other forms, such as strips or panels of similar'dimensions or of different dimensions or of similar materials or of different materials, to provide members or elements I that are entirely free of any inherent self-resonance charvor may be provided as removably attached membersto permit modifying the drum according to the nature of the music to be played during any particular session.

The construction of a drum embodying the principles 3,136,201 Patented June 9, 1964 of this invention, is described in the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which 7 FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of the drum shell and sounding member withone drum head and clamping ring;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic sectional view of the assembled drum, along lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1, through one side wall of the drum shell and the assembly to illustrate one manner of support for the auxiliary member; and

FIGURE 3 is a similar sectional view of the shell, taken along lines 3--3 of FIGURE 1, at one of the windows in the main shell.

As shown in FIGURE 1, a drum 1!), in accordance with the principles of this invention, comprises a main drum shell 15 that is to serve as a support, for an internal sound-responsive and sound-reproducing member 18, and for two drum heads 20 and 22 that are to be mounted and tightly secured to the two ends of the drum shell 15. Two end rings 24 and 26 are arranged to be clamped to the drum shell 15 by means by suitable lugs 28 and combination bolts 32 and anchoring lugs 34, the lugs 34 being integrally secured tothe drum shell 15 for receiving and anchoring the adjusting bolts 32 that tighten the drum heads in position. The drum shell 15 differs from conventional structures, in having several windows or openings in the body of the shell 15 intermediate the two open ends of the shell.

In accordance with the invention herein, a conventional drum shellis modified to provide the windows 40 ,to enable the sound-responsive and sound-reproducing string anchored at its ends.

ported internally within the drum shell 15. Thus, the sound waves generated by the drum'heads strike the soundresponsive member 18and cause that member 18 to regenerate and amplify or modify the received sound waves in accordance with the characteristics of such member 18.

By way of example, one form of the auxiliary soundreproducing member 18 is shown to illustrate both the construction and the arrangement and disposition of such auxiliary member 18, as an inner shell supported on and spaced from the drum shell 15. The body of the auxiliary shell 18 is thus free to vibrate between its ends without touching the inner surface of the drum shell 15.

As viewedin FIGURE 2, the section of the auxiliary shell 18, as supported at its ends, resembles a vibratable formed as a shell, or as an open cylinder, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, will be free to have an infinite number of modes ofvvibration, just as each drum head has freedom to vibrate in a large number of modes The auxiliary inner shell 18 may therefore readily respond to thesoundwaves of various frequencies emanating from the drum heads, and will vibrate to regenerate and amplify or modify the sound waves from the drum heads somewhat in the manner of a sounding board on a piano.

The auxiliary sound-responsive and sound-reproducing member 18 may be made of various materials according to the effects desired from such sounding member upon the sounds originally and initially produced by the drum heads. The auxiliary sound-reproducing member 18 may thus be made of any of the various metals in appropriate thicknesses to be sensitively responsive to the sounds from the drum heads and to reproduce those sounds or to modify them as desired. Similarly, the auxiliary soundreproducing member 18 may be made of othermaterials according to the effects that they will have in modifying or modulating the soundsfrom the drum heads.

For example, the auxiliary sound-reproducing member 18 has been shown as a simple cylindrical shell, but it is intended to be within the scope of the invention that the auxiliary member 18 may be made not only from vari- The auxiliary member 18,

one different materials, but also in various different structural forms, such as strips or plates supported between and from the ends of the drum shell 15, appropriately spaced of course, to be able to enjoy free vibration without any frictional restraint that might arise from contact with the drum shell 15.

It is also contemplated Within the invention that the auxiliary sound-reproducing member 18 may be constructed to permit simple, easy and ready application to the drum shell 15, and simple, easy and ready removal therefrom, in order that various reproducing members having different characteristics may be substituted, in relatively quick operations, in accordance with the type of music to be played in the subsequent periods.

FIGURE 3 serves to show a sectional view of the drum shell at a window 40 at which a substantial area of i the sound-reproducing member 18 is exposed for free vibration and sound radiation.

As described herein, the modified drum of this invention provides for a sound-responsive and sound-reproducin member supported substantially as a free body, within an open type shell as a support, and responsive to sound waves from a drum head to amplify or modify and vary the sounds normally produced by the vibrating drum head, in order to create a new type of drum and a new form of control of the sounds that may be produced thereby.

t will be obvious that various modifications may be made-in the construction details of the drum and of the sound-responsive and sound-reproducing member itself, within the scope of the invention and without departing from the scope and spirit of the claims that define the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A drum comprising a hollow cylindrical shell to serve as a support and having peripheral window openings to serve as areas through which sound may be radiated;

a pair of drum heads supported on opposite ends of the cylindrical shell;

means for securing the drum heads tightly to said cylindrical shell;

and internal means within the cylindrical shell to serve as a sounding board responsive to sound waves from a drum head, said pair of drum heads and said internal means constituting a closed resonance chamher, and said internal means when resonant serving as a radiator to radiate sound Waves through the windows of said hollow cylindrical shell.

2. A drum, as in claim 1, in which said internal means consists of a cylinder supported from the end rims of the cylindrical shell and spaced internally from the wall of said cylindrical shell intermediate the end rims of said cylindrical shell to be free to resonate and operative when so resonating to radiate sound waves through said windows.

3. A drum comprising j a hollow cylindrical shell having open windows in its cylindrical body;

a drum head on each end of the shell;

means anchored on the outer side of the shell for securing each drum head tightly to the shell;

and cylindrical means supported from the shell and disposed within the shell to serve as a sounding board for sounds from said drum head, said cylindrical sounding board means and the two drum heads constituting a closed resonance chamber, and said cylindrical sounding board means serving to radiate sound waves outward through said windows in the body of the hollow cylindrical shell.

4. A drum comprising a hollow cylindrical shell having open peripherally spaced windows in its body;

a drum head for at least one end of the shell;

means anchored on the outer side of the shell for securing the drum head tightly to the shell;

and cylindrical means supported from the opposite ends of the shell and disposed within the shell to serve as a sounding regenerating member, said supported means having a longitudinal dimension and being supported at both ends from the shell and its intermediate portion between its two ends being spaced out of contact from the shell and being free to vibrate in response to sound waves from the drum head.

5. A drum comprising a first hollow cylindrical shell open at both ends and having openings in its wall intermediate said ends;

a hollow cylindrical element open at both ends and supported within the first hollow shell from and between both ends of said first hollow shell to serve as a sounding element;

a drum head covering one open end of said first and second shells;

a cover for the other open end of both shells;

and means for securing the drum head and the cover to the first shell.

6. A drum comprising a resonant cylinder open at both ends;

a drum head closing one end of the resonant cylinder;

a closure for the other end of the resonant cylinder, so the resonant cylinder and the drum head and the closure constitute a closed resonant cavity;

and a supporting cylindrical shell for supporting the resonant cylinder with said drum head and said closure in place, said supporting shell having peripherally spaced windows in its body to enable the cylindrical resonant cylinder to radiate sound waves through said windows.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Susser June 3, 

1. A DRUM COMPRISING A HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL SHELL TO SERVE AS A SUPPORT AND HAVING PERIPHERAL WINDOW OPENINGS TO SERVE AS AREAS THROUGH WHICH SOUND MAY BE RADIATED; A PAIR OF DRUM HEADS SUPPORTED ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE CYLINDRICAL SHELL; MEANS FOR SECURING THE DRUM HEADS TIGHTLY TO SAID CYLINDRICAL SHELL; AND INTERNAL MEANS WITHIN THE CYLINDRICAL SHELL TO SERVE AS A SOUNDING BOARD RESPONSIVE TO SOUND WAVES FROM A DRUM HEAD, SAID PAIR OF DRUM HEADS AND SAID INTERNAL MEANS CONSTITUTING A CLOSED RESONANCE CHAMBER, AND SAID INTERNAL MEANS WHEN RESONANT SERVING AS A RADIATOR TO RADIATE SOUND WAVES THROUGH THE WINDOWS OF SAID HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL SHELL. 